


Every Dog Has Its Dark Hour

by akisazame



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-20
Updated: 2009-01-20
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2583110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akisazame/pseuds/akisazame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junpei and Koromaru get separated from the rest of the party in Tartarus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Dog Has Its Dark Hour

Junpei hated to admit it, but he was getting tired of aimlessly killing Shadows in Tartarus. Sure, it was cool to be all badass and summon his Persona and stuff, but Minato was running them ragged. Seriously, he was getting _way_ too into this leader stuff. They needed to train, sure, but it seemed like they were going to Tartarus every other night! When the hell were they supposed to get any sleep?!

Tonight's adventuring party was made up of Minato, Junpei, Mitsuru, and Koromaru. They'd made quick work of the Shadows leading up to the current barrier, just like always; the same 10 or 12 types of Shadows they killed every time they'd come here recently. Then they had warped back down to the entrance so that Minato could zone out for 20 minutes like he usually did, followed by them warping back up to where they'd started. This time, though, Minato told them to split up and fight the Shadows alone.

Usually this was the part Junpei relished. Yeah, okay, so there wasn't anyone watching him be completely awesome, but it felt really good to completely wipe out a whole group of Shadows by himself. Tonight, though, he just wasn't feeling it. He was exhausted, not to mention that he was just plain sick of the damn place. So when Minato and Mitsuru set off dutifully down opposite corridors, Junpei tagged along behind Koromaru.

"I'm just gonna stick with you, boy. Y'know, if that's okay." He felt stupid as soon as he'd said it. Like the dog was really gonna answer back, other than the usual wag of his tail or maybe a bark. Maybe he'd growl if it wasn't okay? Whatever.

Koromaru led the way down a hallway, with Junpei at his heels. The dog didn't seem to mind the human's presence, and kept his nose in the air, trying to sniff out Shadows. Eventually, they came to a dead end. "Lame. Not even some weak Shadow to fight?" Junpei grumbled to himself, even though five minutes ago fighting Shadows has been number one on his Top Things Junpei Doesn't Feel Like Doing Today. After following the dog down the bland corridor, though, "being bored" had taken the number one spot. There hadn't even been a treasure chest at the end! He'd at least been hoping for a case full of cash, which he could then conveniently forget to tell Minato about. What a waste.

After sniffing the dead end thoroughly, Koromaru turned around and started heading back the way they'd come. Junpei, however, hung back for a minute, digging thoughtfully in his pocket among all the random items he'd picked up in Tartarus. Maybe he could salvage some fun out of the Dark Hour after all. Finally grabbing hold of something promising, he whistled at Koromaru, who turned around, ears perked. "Hey, boy, I got something for you." He brandished the shiny object for the dog; it was roughly the size of a tennis ball, but heavier and a different shape. Even so, it would do for now. Once he was sure that he had Koro's attention, he tossed the object down the hall.

It had been a long time since anyone had played fetch with Koro, but he definitely hadn't forgotten the game. Dropping his kunai on the ground for the time being, the white dog bounded off down the hallway after the thrown object, grabbing it in his mouth and bringing it obediently back to Junpei, tail wagging. Truly, even a hyperintelligent dog with enough ego to summon a Persona still wasn't above playing fetch.

"Good boy, Koro!" Junpei said, grabbing the object from the dog's mouth and scratching him behind his ear. "You ready? Wanna get it again?" Koro barked in response, and Junpei tossed the item again.

This went on for at least 10 minutes, a perfect blissful period of Junpei throwing the whatever-it-was and Koromaru chasing it and bringing it back. The two of them forgot completely about where they were and their purpose for being there. Forget about the Dark Hour, forget about Tartarus, forget about the Shadows of the major arcana that wanted to do whatever it was they wanted to do. Right now, it was all about a guy and a dog, doing what a guy and a dog do best. Junpei hadn't felt this relaxed in ages, and he hoped that Koromaru shared the sentiment.

Of course, a period of time so wonderful was practically designed to not last forever. "Iori! Koromaru! What are you doing?"

Junpei's face fell as soon as he heard Mitsuru-senpai's voice. Man, busted. "Uh, 'sup Senpai?" He'd just retrieved the toy from Koromaru's mouth, and he casually hid it behind his back. "We're just, y'know, fighting some Shadows and stuff."

"Actually, Yamagishi just contacted us to say that there were no Shadows on this floor to begin with. Arisato gave the order to regroup, but you two never came. We've been looking for you for the past five minutes. Care to explain yourselves?" Mitsuru's face was hard, and the rapier she was brandishing in her hand made Junpei extremely nervous.

He reached up to scratch the back of his head, trying his best to appear nonchalant. "Oh, y'know, just... looking for treasure?"

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed, and she took a step towards Junpei. "What is that in your hand, Iori?"

Eyes still focused on that rapier, Junpei took a step back. Mitsuru took another step forward in return, followed by Junpei taking a step back, until finally he had been backed against the wall. "It's nothing, Senpai, really! Honest!" His eyes refocused briefly, and he noticed Minato standing in the background, an amused smirk on his face. That jerk! This was all his fault anyway!

In a flash, Mitsuru's free hand snapped out and grabbed the object from Junpei's hand before he even knew what was happening. She examined it for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Iori, please tell me that you and Koromaru were not playing fetch with a Flame Magatama."

Junpei laughed sheepishly, looking up at the bill of his baseball cap to avoid Mitsuru's icy gaze. "Oh, is that what that is?"


End file.
